St. Joseph Church
961 West Houghton Ave
West Branch, MI 48661
Welcome to St. Joseph Parish’s website. It is not perfect and is under construction. Yet we hope it provides you with helpful information. Be sure to visit all of our web pages.
Please feel free to join us in Sunday worship and all of our programs. God bless all of you.
Your are encouraged to visit all our web pages. They are filled with basic information about our Catholic Faith and our parish.
Information of this web page
Basic Information on the parish and time of services through the year
Who are we as Catholic Christians.
Web pages Updated July 2, 2009
Basic Information and time of services through the year
Parish Office & Library – 989- 345-0064 St. Joseph School – 989-345-0220
Mon-Fri 8:00am – 3:30pm Grades K thru 8
Pastor – Fr. Robert H. Bissot 935 West Houghton Ave
Lay Pastoral Assistant & Hospital Visitation Principal – Lorrene Spaulding
Marie Clemens Secretary – Deborah Rau
Secretary – Vicki Robelli Email Address
Email Address- stjoseph@m33access.com Fax – 989-345-3030
Fax – 989-345-8757
Youth Ministries – Br. Mike Whitman
Religious Education – Anita Sanborn
Parish Mission Statement
We are the Catholic Community of St. Joseph Parish assembled at West Branch, Mi as part of the Diocese of Gaylord.
We commit ourselves to spiritual growth by faithfully living God’s word in our daily lives; to meaningful celebration of Liturgy and Sacraments; to ongoing Christian education and evangelization; to deepen our spirit of community and to serve the needs of others in the Church, our local community and the world through charity, justice and peace.
Location
St. Joseph Church is located on the Northwest corner of the intersection of Business I 75 (M-55) and M-30 (M-30 terminates at this intersection), approximately 1 and ½ miles East of I 75’s exit 215 on M55 (Bus I 75).
The Parish Offices are in the Parish Center across the parking lot to the west of the church building.
The school is just to the west of the Parish Center across Husted Ave.
The priest’s residence is just east of the church.
Parish registration
and
Those Interested in Joining the Catholic Faith
(For more information see our web page “Initiation into the Church”)
Contact the parish office.
Schedule of Services
Sunday Masses
5:00pm (Sat) and Sundays: 8:00am and 11:00am
Coffee and rolls are served most first Sundays of the month,
after the 8:00 and 11:00 at the Parish Center
Weekday Masses
(check weekly bulletin)
8:30am Mondays - Fridays
Wednesdays when school is in session at 9:15
Daily Mass is cancelled when there is a funeral.
Holy Day Mass
The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (January 1), The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15), and All Saints (November 1) while always holy days are not days of obligation when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday. When these Solemnities are celebrated on a Tuesday, Wednesday or a Thursday, Masses will be on the Vigil (the day before) at 7:00 P.M (except All saints) and on the day itself at 9:15A.M.
Masses for November 1 will be only on the day itself at 9:15am and 7:00 pm.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 8) is always a holyday of obligation. Masses usually at 7:00 p.m. on the Vigil and 9:15 p.m. on the day itself.
Christmas (2008)
Monday, Christmas Eve, December 24: at 4:00 PM and11:00PM
Monday, Christmas Day, December 25:10:00 AM
Lenten Devotions (2009)
Station of the Cross (2009)
Friday February @ 2:30 pm
Friday February @ 2:30pm
Friday March @ 2:30 pm
The Easter Triduum
The Most Sacred 72 Hours of the Year
The Evening of Holy Thursday to the Evening of Easter
Holy Thursday, April 9. 2009, Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:00 pm
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, April 10, 2009, Services 1:00pm
Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, April 11, 2009, 9:00 pm
Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord, April 12, 2009
Masses at 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00am
Confessions
Saturdays 3:30-4:00pm
And by appointment
Communal Penance Service
Fall
Tuesday Sept 9, 2008 @ 7:00p.m.
Advent 2008
Tuesday Dec. 16 @ 9:15 am
Wednesday Dec. 17 @ 10:15am ,1:30 pm and 7:00 pm
Thursday Dec 18 @ 9:15 am
Lent 2009
Monday March @ 9:15am
Tuesday March @ 9:15am
Wednesday April 8, @ 1:30pm and 7:00 pm
Pentecost 2009
Wednesday May 27, 2009 @ 7:00pm
Eucharistic Adoration – First Friday of the month 1:00-2:00pm
The church is usually open daily for prayer from 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday-Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays until after the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday and the 11:00am Mass on Sunday.
Anointing of the Sick
Contact the parish office at 345-0064
Mass and Communal Anointing of the Sick – Thursday April 30, 2009, 11:00 AM, K of C Hall
(see our web page “Care of the Sick and Dying”)
For Baptism ,First Penance, Confirmation and First Eucharist
(see our web pages “Sacraments of Initiation” and “Faith Formation” and "Liturgy")
For Marriages (see our web page “Marriage”)
Prayer Requests
Prayer Line – Mary J. Marcozzi: 345-1915
Fran Lee 345-7778 or Kitty Whitney 345-5177
Prayer request book – church vestibule
Votive Candles are available at St. Joseph’s Shrine and in Mary’s Chapel at the west entrance off the parking lot.
Please pray that men will answer God’s call to the Priesthood.
Prayers for Vocations:
Oh Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to youth that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God. Give them courage and strength to follow God’s holy will. Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they labor in God’s holy service. Amen.
O Jesus, Good and Gentle Shepherd, grant that the men and women from our community may have the grace and the courage to hear and answer Your call to priesthood and religious life. Give them the wisdom to realize that life is a gift. Let them realize their life is part of YOUR plan. Call forth those You have chosen to spread the gospel message, and help them to respond freely to a life of service in the church. May the parents and families of our parish, support and encourage our young men and women to search for, follow, and answer the call of God in their lives. Amen
PROMISE TO PROTECT; PLEDGE TO HEAL: In an effort to protect all children and to promote healing, the Diocese of Gaylord encourages victims of child abuse or neglect to report the matter. In fact, many professionals are required by the Michigan State law to report suspected abuse or neglect of a current minor. Individuals should contact their local office of the Department of Human Services. If an allegation involves sexual misconduct of a minor by clergy, even if it is in the past, individuals may also contact Candace Neff at the diocese by calling 1-800-727-5147, ext. 3534.
Who Are We as Catholic Christians?
Words cannot describe who we are as Church. Church can only be experienced. It is a way of life and a way of relating with self, God, and with all others and in a special way with companion Catholics.
We have been called to be God’s family, followers of Jesus, a vibrant expression of his resurrected body, branches of the one vine. Jesus’ mission is our mission. Living as Church is our public, faithfilled statement of these realities: that God is our Father/Mother; we sons and daughters, brothers and sisters; that we are called to be disciples of Jesus, not through creation, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus’ Mission is our Mission
Jesus is priest, prophet and king. He came to be the glory of the Father; his whole life was one continuous act of worship (priest). In word and deed he make known the Father and the Father’ love (prophet). He forgave, healed, liberated and empowered people so that they could grow as loving and caring persons and truly be the family of God (king).
As Jesus’ disciples, we share his priestly, prophetic, and kingly roles, incorporated with Jesus through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. We, too, are to be the glory of the Father; our lives are also to be one continuous act of worship. Striving to live Jesus’ mind and heart in word and action, we, too, are to make known the Father and the Father’s love. We, too, are to forgive, heal, liberate, and empower people so that the world can become a loving place. We cannot do all of this on our own. Only in, with and through Jesus can we carry on his mission.
His Way – Our Way
In fulfilling his mission, Jesus calls us both as individuals and as a community of disciples to the obedience, poverty and chastity that he lived. Obedience – the seeking to grasp and live out the mind, heart, and way of the Father; poverty – the recognizing and living out of our total dependence on God; chastity – the acceptance of and respect for one’s own and other’s sexuality, uniqueness and personhood; and with these attitudes, striving to grow in loving, liberating, caring and healthy relationships.
Companions, Family
Jesus’ disciples were precious to him. They were his family. He was concerned about their growth and welfare. He showered his love upon them. He shared himself with them; he healed, liberated, and forgave them; he empowered them with the gift of his Holy Spirit. He entrusted them to seek others to join them as his disciples and to carry on his mission in the world. We are precious to him and he does the same for us.
Our companion Church members are precious to us. They are our family. It is through them that we come to know Jesus. With them we grow as disciples of Jesus as we strive to grow together in knowledge and love of God and His ways. We experience God’s love, healing, liberation, forgiveness and empowerment through our mutual love, healing, liberation, forgiveness and empowerment. Joyful and grateful for having been called together to carry on Jesus’ word, we seek and welcome new members into our midst.
Eating Bread Together & Sharing the Cup
We are to be companion-believers. The word "companion” comes from the Latin words “cum” meaning "with” and “panis” meaning “bread”. In other words “to eat or break the bread of the Lord together”.
Eating and drinking together throughout history is a sign and building block of unity. This is true in family, business, among friends and as church and followers of Jesus the Christ. Our coming together to eat and drink of the Lord each week is central and indispensable to who we are as Catholic Christians.
Only by eating and drinking of the Lord together regularly on the Lord’s Day, remembering his death and resurrection, will we take on the mind, heart, and way of the Lord and truly become his body in the world today.
Love Reaches Out
Jesus did not come to befriend and save just a small group of followers. He came to reveal the Father and the Father’s love to the whole world that all may join him in the praise of the Father. He came to heal, liberate, forgive, and empower all people so that the world can truly be a loving and caring place. He sent his disciples into the countryside and villages to carry on his work
Our work as individuals and as a community of Jesus’ disciples is not to be centered just upon ourselves. We are to reach out into the whole world; into the marketplace, the work world; into politics, education, and social services; into peace, justice, and environmental issues – offering Christ’s insights, Christ’s way – continuing God’s creation of the world. With Jesus, we, too, are to be peacemakers, healers, forgivers, liberators, and empowerers. We are to make God’s love and concern believable through our love and concern, especially for the poor, the oppressed, and the helpless.
All called
We share equally in the work of Jesus, whether we are single, married, members or a religious community or ordained.
Singleness is not celebrated sacramental in our Church. Yet, chaste, unselfish, single persons have an important role in the church. They remind us of God’s non-exclusive love and that no human love will ever be totally fulfilling. The single life can provide the freedom for special service to others not always possible in other lifestyles.
Married persons are recognized as having important roles in the church through the Sacrament of Marriage. They are to make God’s parental and spousal love believable through their parental and spousal love. They are to teach us how to love.
Religious communities of single men or women, in their striving to live community life, remind all of us that, as Church, we need to strive to be a vibrant, faith-filled communion of companion disciples. Like them and with them we need to share our lives, visions, resources and efforts to carry on the mission of Christ.
The special roles of bishop priest, deacon are celebrated sacramentally in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Those ordained are to special leaders and teachers to assist the whole Church to live the life of Christ. They act among us in the name of Christ and the whole Church, especially in the celebration of its liturgy and sacraments.
One Church – Various Settings
We live out the relationships that make us Church and who we are as Church simultaneously in the various communities or churches which together make up the Roman Catholic Church – the worldwide union of diocesan churches and especially the parish church and the house hold church.
The parish community is the center of
much of our life as Catholic Christians. It is through the parish that we enter
the faith community through baptism and confirmation
and are fed the Word especially in Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist, lest we
wander off on our own. In the parish we experience a sense of the universality
and diversity of who we are as Church. There, our efforts to follow Christ are
encouraged and find direction. There, we experience healing and forgiveness as
celebrated in the Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Penance. This is
the community that accepts and celebrates with us as married, ordained or
single. It is from this community that we are buried and that remembers us.
It is in the household church that we most experience and live out who we are as Catholic Christians. It is among these close companion-believers – husband or wife, parent or children, brothers, sisters, and friends – that we first and most powerfully experience Christ’s acceptance, commitment, giving of self, forgivingness, liberation and healing. They are our first and prime teachers in the faith and support us in our struggle to be like Christ. They are our intimate prayer-companions and the source of our strength as we carry Christ and his mind and his heart into the world.
In Conclusion
Christ has called us to be his disciples, his family, his resurrected body, his people, and his branches. It is for us now to live what we preach, to be what we claim we are, and celebrate all that we hold dear.
We certainly will not be church by our own doing, but only by the power of Christ and his Holy Spirit. We will always be an imperfect Church, always needing forgiveness, healing, empowerment, growth. Jesus was hurt by his disciples. We, too, may be hurt by our companion believers. Jesus forgave and reached out to those who failed him. Jesus asks us to forgive and continue to strive to work together.
We need to pray daily with and for each other. We need to pray in a special way for all who have leadership roles in the Church: parents, pope, bishops, priest; our bishop, our pastor, our parish staff and leaders. We need to encourage our young men and women to dedicate their lives to church leadership especially as brothers, sisters and priests. As the Lord said: pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers for the harvest.
You are invited to view our other web pages. Just click on the various titles on the
________ line above.
see: Care of the Sick & Dying for information on the home & hospital visits
Communion to the sick and homebound
Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
see: Faith Formation & Religious Instruction for information
a. One Becoming Catholic
b. Rites of Christian Initiation
c. Family Faith Formation
d. Youth Ministries
e. Prayer/Scripture Study Groups
f. Renew
g. Parish Library
see: Funerals for arranging and planning funerals
see: History of the parish for historical information about the parish
see: Leave a Legacy for remembering the various need of the parish in your charitable donations and in your will.
Links
For Daily Scripture readings, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Archive of parish Sunday Bulletins – go to
To access information on the Diocese of Gaylord’s other parishes in the diocese go to
see: Liturgy for names, requirement and assigned Masses for ushers, lectors,
musicians, cantors, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, servers and greeters.
see: Organization for parish groups and Catholic Organization’s function in the parish cleaners, building grounds, St. Vincent de Paul, Knights of Columbus.
see: Parish Councils for information in the parish’s pastoral and finance councils.
see: Parish News – for what is going in the parish and most recent Newsletter.
see: Parish Outreach – for social ministries of the parish.
see: Parish School – for information on St. Joseph School.
see: Sacraments of Initiation – for information on Baptism, Confirmation, First Eucharist, Rite of Christian Initiation.
see: Sacrament of Marriage – for information about Marriage Prep, Weddings, Marriage & Remarriage in the Catholic Church.
see: Sacrament of Penance – for information on Confession, Communal Penance Services, First Penance.
see: St. Joseph Cemetery concerning costs and regulations.
see: Sunday Bulletin to access archive of Sunday Bulletins and Bulletin Sponsors.